


Witchfinder + Blowtorch + Jack

by EWM



Category: MacGyver (TV 2016), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Gen, M/M, Secrets, Whump, Whumptober 2020, all of the angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26758816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EWM/pseuds/EWM
Summary: Written for Day 1 of @whumptober2020. MacGyver as Merlin complete with glowing eyes and Murdoc is a witchfinder (just go with it okay) who has come to hunt him down. Also thanks to @anguishmacgyver  and their many beautiful gifs of Mac with golden eyes as they were a big inspiration. I have vague notions of continuing this on as a full series, thoughts appreciated !
Relationships: Jack Dalton & Angus MacGyver (MacGyver TV 2016), Jack Dalton - Relationship, Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 42
Kudos: 29





	1. Secrets, Lies and a prison cell

The cold stone of the walls woke Mac up, he felt his hands brush against it. He tried to moved his hands but then he felt the chains keeping them in place above his head. Mac opened his eyes, took in his surroundings and tried not to panic. The room was small and dirty, he could feel earth under his feet, there was barely any light, bar a small window near the floor. On the other side facing him, he could just about make out bars, as in a prison cell? How had he ended up here? Was he still at the Phoenix? Surely not? Not that he had seen every part of the foundation. Although he knew, there was a whole series of locked rooms and dark passages he was not allowed to go in. Maybe he had finally found one of the hidden chambers of the Phoenix, he shuddered again, given what the Phoenix was, he hated to think what these dungeons were used for. The room was freezing as well, Mac shivered. He tested the chains giving them a little pull, stuck fast and tight around his hands. Although he could feel the wall wasn’t very stable as he rubbed the back of his hands against the wall, a flurry of dust came down, coating his hair. Whatever he was going to do, one thing he was going to need was light. No one appeared to be around, so he was as safe as he could be…quietly he started to chant over and over again.

"Fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme. Fromum feohgiftum"

His blue eyes shifted turning slowly to gold, Mac smiled a little to himself, despite the horrible circumstances he always felt a surge of pleasure when got a chance to use his powers, he spent so much time hiding them, in fear of what would happen if someone saw. He smiled widened as he saw a small glowing ball appear just above his head casting a faint glow in the room. He started to move the chains back and forth, even if he couldn’t get the chains off his hands, maybe he could bring the wall around them down or rip them out? Slowly more dirt came down and Mac might have made it out if he hadn’t heard a horrifying noise coming out of the dark; someone was humming and coming towards him. With a wave of his bound hands the ball of light was gone and Mac was once again in darkness. He shut his eyes tight and rested his head against his chin.

“Wakey, wakey Mr MacGyver! The sedatives I gave you shouldn’t have lasted that long.”

Mac slowly opened his eyes and came eye-to-eye with a youngish man, he was tall with dark hair and dark eyes. He carried a light above him which he shone right into Mac’s eyes in a way that Mac did not like. He wore a huge leather jacket that went down to his feet and he wore an ebony stone around his neck on a a string, the stone had a tiny white spark at the centre. With a sinking heart Mac realised who this man was

“You’re the witchfinder aren’t you?”

“Well done Mr MacGyver! Most people don’t recognise me. You know your charms, although that doesn’t really bode well for you I must admit, although who knows maybe not?”

Mac swallowed trying to calm the terror building in his chest.

“Am I being accused of something?”

“Oh no, you don’t need to look so worried. The Phoenix Foundation is just being cautious, after the incident with the smoke a week ago. Oversight decided it was best to bring me, in case a nasty little witch had sneaked their way int your ranks.”

Mac said nothing, he hated where this was going.

“So today all I want from you is a few tests, that shouldn’t be problem. Everyone here tells me you’re terribly clever so won’t have any trouble, after all you’re not a witch are you?”

“What should I call you?” Mac said simply

“Oh you are very polite, how flattering. Well let me see, in this business I’ve collected a few names…doing my style of work doesn’t make you popular. But yes, you Mr MacGyver can call me Murdoc…”

Mac nodded. Murdoc proceeded to put his light down on a table he had wheeled in with him. He whipped off the silver cloth that had covered the top and Mac’s eyes widened, he saw a whole set of silver knives elaborately carved, something that looked like a mini blow torch and a set of metal rods in the shape of a man’s hand connected with rusted looking nails pointing out of it and perhaps worst of all he could see a set of long sharp needles at the edge.

“So first Mr MacGyver, that sounds so formal, we should probably be more friendly, we’re going to be here a while. Can I call you Mac? That’s much better, I’m going to need to see the scars you’ve got.”

“What ?”

“I understand that you have quite a few? Two on your chest just as a start?”

“I was shot last year while on a mission and once long before that.”

“Remarkable how you survived that isn’t it? Most normal people wouldn’t of...so close to the heart. Anyway..”

Murdoc took one of his knives and sliced open Mac’s t-shirt leaving it as a pile of rags on the floor. Mac in fact had several scars, the most obvious of which were the two bullet scars on his chest. The first he had received three years previously when the love of his life has shot him close to his heart (the universe has a twisted sense of humour), the second he had got only six months when and he and his partner had been trying to stop an assassin and Mac had taken yet another bullet to the chest.

Murdoc smiled when he saw them. He picked up a different knife and made two small slashes exactly on the place of the scars. Mac hissed from the pain but didn’t cry out, the cuts started to bleed and Murdoc frowned picking up his light again and shinning it directly into Mac’s eyes looking for something. He didn’t say a word, didn’t ask Mac any questions, just stared at him expectantly. When Mac’s eyes didn’t do anything, he frowned once again.

He picked up a different knife, it was longer this time, spinning it in his fingers as his eyes scanned Mac’s body. Suddenly he saw yet another scar this time on Mac’s left arm. This was from a misplaced needle from yet another enemy who had tried to drug Mac into giving up information. He had of course failed, but had left a jagged mark on Mac’s arm as a little reminder. This time Murdoc took the knife and plunged it into Mac’s arm again directly onto the scar. Mac screamed

“What do you want from me?” Mac rasped at Murdoc

“The witches mark, MacGyver, the witches mark. It has to be here, I just need to find it.”

“Please...I’m not a witch. I’m not who you think I am. I’m not worth all of this.” Mac pleaded

“Oh but you are. I know there is witch in this foundation…I just know it. I’ll find her or him…I can promise you that.” Murdoc grinned at Mac once again shinning his light directly into Mac’s eyes. Mac shied away from the light, shutting his eyes against being blinded. Murdoc responded by putting down his knife now dripping with Mac’s blood and taking hold of Mac’s hair and slamming his head back into the stone wall. Mac cried out again at the pain and opened his eyes. Murdoc gawped once again, his face two inches away from Mac. But he still came up frowning, not finding what he wanted. He put down all his implements and took a step back

“You know this going to be harder than I thought. I’m going to have to try something else.” Murdoc looked at the various devices he had and then his eyes came across the blow torch. Mac pulled hard at his restraints trying to get them away from the wall and moved away from Murdoc as best he could. He felt his eyes flash gold as the fear rose in his chest, he turned away determined to hide them. No one here could know what he was, not if he wanted to survive. Murdoc lit the blow torch slowly and deliberately and moved towards Mac, he had one remaining scar on view. It was on his ribs, it wasn’t very obvious, just a faint mottle of raised skin over his rib cage, this one had come from a drug cartel who had tried to poison him and the drug they had used had been so powerful it had gone onto his outer skin as well his lungs. Murdoc put the blow torch over the scar and once again Mac screamed at the top of his voice.

It was at this point that Jack Dalton, veteran, hunter and heir to the Phoenix foundation slammed open the door and yelled

“What the hell are you doing?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My gloriously strange Mac as Merlin fic continues on. Jack watches out for his boy, not matter what universe they’re in. Happy reading and happy whumping! 

“I don’t understand what you mean Mr Dalton, I’m doing my work as your boss oversight requested.” Murdoc said pulling the blowtorch away from Mac’s ribs

“Oversight told you to find the witch out, not torture my people.”

“If MacGyver has nothing to hide, then he’s got nothing to fear from my tests.” Murdoc responded acidicaly

Dalton folded his arms and frowned

“And have you found anything? Any kind of hint to suggest that he’s a witch?”

Murdoc sighed

“No, but I’m not finished yet… There are still a number of tes..” Murdoc didn’t get a chance to finish his sentence

“Yeah you’re finished. He’s done, I’m done. You’re done.” Dalton strowed over to Mac who had passed out against the wall

Dalton pulled a set of master keys from his back pocket and unlocked the chains from the wall. Mac would have fallen onto the floor if Jack hadn’t caught him, he groaned as pain shot through his top half.

“Easy kid, you’re alright…I’m here.” Jack murmured in ear. He heaved Mac’s arm onto his shoulder, Mac’s eyes fluttered open

“See you’re alright. I got you.” Jack said smiling at him, Mac wobbled but managed to stand on his feet leaning heaving on Jack. Dalton took Mac’s hand in his making sure the kid’s full weight was on him.

Murdoc watched this scene fascinated, but then stepped forward .

“I really don’t think…” Murdoc began

“That’s right you don’t think at all…piss off and get out my dungeons.” Dalton snapped as he led Mac away.

Murdoc wisely said nothing only watched the duo, Jack murmuring in MacGyver’s ear as they walked away. Jack took Mac up the stairs very gently, it was going to be a while for them to get up to the main levels again. Mac could barely stay conscious let alone walk at any kind pace

“You doing okay kid?”

“I’ve had better days Jack”

“I don’t doubt, but I mean are you okay?”

Mac raised an eyebrow at Jack

“Okay as in like safe? I mean Mr Crazy down there, he didn’t see you do anything? No glowy eye stuff or anything, no sparkles or any of that?”

Mac laughed and the groaned as his burned ribs made themselves felt

“Jack, don’t make me laugh and no he didn’t see me do anything. Not that I think that’s going to stop him, he’s got it in for me, for sure. Although I don’t know why.”

“He’s fucking nuts that’s why!” Jack snorted

“ I don’t know Jack, I think he’s got some other obsession with me. He was shinning his light right in my eyes, to check. He must suspect something otherwise why would he even go for me?”

Jack just groaned as he didn’t feel like repeating himself. They finally made it up to one of the main levels of the foundation, a comic contrast to the stone and dirt of the dungeons below. They were on the lab/experiment level, the rooms were cleaner and more normal looking, filled with tech nerds doing elaborate things to machinery he didn’t really understand and creating beautiful weapons that Jack desperately wanted to play with, but couldn’t because he had a very sick/hurt MacGyver to fix first. After what seemed like an age, they finally made it to Mac’s quarters, a set of tiny backrooms near the labs and the few friends Mac had in this place, away from the other agents and soldiers, among the nerds Jack thought, his own kind or near enough.

Dalton placed MacGyver as carefully as he could on the bed at the very back of his backrooms. The tiny bedroom was a mess like usual, piled high with projects and half scribbled notes, Jack thought it always looked like a kid’s room, no adult can actually work in this mess. Mac rolled on his back groaning audibly again, he tried to slow his breathing down and calm his mind, he needed to heal and think. Jack perched on the end of the bed and waited

“You don’t need to wait Jack, I’ll be fine.”

“It’s fine kid, you do your thing. I’lll wait, although maybe don’t do it too much as the nut job down in the dungeons might notice.”

Mac groaned again, realising of course that Jack was right, if he healed up too fully Murdoc would know and confirm his already rock hard suspicions. Maybe he could at least take some of the pain away, he managed to sit up and focused on the pain on his arm and chest. His eyes began to glow once again (fortunately Jack had had the forethought to shut the door behind them)

The scratch on his arm, the cuts on his chest and the burns across his ribs all began to not exactly heal, but at least scab up and look less angry. Jack watched fascinated at the kid’s glowing eyes, he’d never get tired of seeing that, seeing a real life warlock up close, even a baby one like Mac, it never got old. Mac finished and fell back on his bed and breathed a little easier and Jack grinned at him. He got up and pulled a clean t-shirt out of the chest at the end of Mac’s bed and threw it at him, Mac giggled and pulled the t-shirt over his head.

“What will you tell your father? He won’t like you interfering in his business, especially not for the likes of me.” Mac asked

“What Oversight? I’ll think of something. Don’t worry, I am right by the way, Murdoc’s crazy and he could have killed you. I’ll show the big boss that and fix this.”

“Thanks Jack, I mean you didn’t have too, I mean you did, I’m grateful, but I mean you didn’t…but…” Mac responded, Jack hushed him

“Look kid, stop worrying your big brain about this. I did have too, I gotta look after my boy right? You sleep for a couple of hours then go find Bozer and hide in the labs. I’ll fix this, I promise.”

Jack got up grinning and left the boy to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Written with the prompt for Whumptober Day 16 in mind, Mac's powers manifest with horrible consequences 
> 
> No 16. A TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY   
> Forced to Beg | Hallucinations

After Jack left him Mac fell into a deep sleep, the exhaustion and stress of the day overtook him and he fell into contented in his sheets. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t hear the soldiers perhaps that’s why he didn’t register them until they were pointing guns in his face. The jab of a rifle woke him up and multiple lights being shoved in his eyes. Mac held up his hands to shield himself from the glare, the soldiers grabbed him from his bed. 

“Wait, stop! I…what’s happened??” Mac tried to ask a got a punch in the face for his pains

The soldiers dragged him through the hallways of the Phoenix, people came out to watch as there was so much noise. What they saw was Mac dressed in an oversized t-shirt and his jeans barely awake being pulled along, the injuries under Murdoc hadn’t yet healed. He made for pitful sight, but no one stepped in, they just watched. Mac managed to lift his head at some point and looked around, he desperately wanted someone to help, anyone to stop the guards, where was Jack? What had happened to cause this? Mac stumbling managed to pull himself up, the wooden floors felt cold under his feet. They made it the main hall of the foundation, where large meetings and formal functions were held and where Oversight held caught and gave orders. 

Oversight was there, sitting in a large leather chair, flanked by scientists on one side and soldiers on his other. General staff hovered in corners too, talking quietly, gesturing or drinking coffee, oversight liked having people around him. All the noise stopped when Mac entered the room. The guards dumped Mac in front of Oversight, Mac stayed on his knees, maybe he could get himself out of this by playing the weak fool, it had worked before. He waited offering a small prayer to any gods who were listening

“Do you know why you’re here?” Oversight asked firmly

Mac shook his head

“Look at me when I ask you a question.” 

Mac lifted his head and looked Oversight square in the eye

“No I don’t sir.”

“It’s interesting, you look so ordinary, so uninteresting, barely worthy of my notice. Yet, you’ve got a secret, don’t you...a dirty secret. You’re a poison, a monster hiding in our ranks.”

At this point Mac stood up horrified, ready to defend himself

“What? I haven’t done anything! Why have I been brought here? What crime am I supposed to have committed?” 

“You’re a witch..”

Now when this came out of Oversight’s mouth, some odd and frankly slightly irrational bit of MacGyver’s brain desperately wanted to correct him and point out that the term was warlock, witches were women. Thankfully he managed to restrain this impulse because it really wouldn’t have helped. He opted for flat denial

“No…I’m not.”

“Ahhh, but you are, Mr MacGyver. You bewitched us, you bewitched me, my son, your colleagues, you turned them into your little puppets….you cast your poison on us all.”

“What ?? no I didn’t…Jack is my friend! I haven’t bewitched anyone, where is he? I’ve not done anything.”

“Don’t call my son by his name, you’ve no right.” 

At this point Oversight paused and gestured to the soldiers who surrounded him, two of them left and brought in someone in a wheelchair – Jack

Only it wasn’t Jack really, Dalton’s face had been wrecked, he’d been beaten so badly his face had lost some of his shape, there was a long slash across one side of his face. Bruises extended down his, Mac saw that someone or something had broken Jack’s hand. He instinctively moved forward, but the soldiers held him back

“I didn’t do this!!! Please you have to believe me. I swear to you I didn’t do this! Jack’s my friend, I would never hurt him. Someone else has done, something else, let me find out what! I’m begging you please…I can find out!” Mac said as the guards gripped his arms. 

“I already know…you did this to him. You cast some spell, you tricked him, you made him see things, you trapped him and then you beat him…” Oversight said, every word dripping with rage and disgust. 

“I didn’t do any of that!! I can prove it! I’m begging you please! Let me find out what happened to him….” Mac pleaded

“ I do need not your proof, I have a loyal servant already…”

At this point Murdoc walked forward smiling, his hands together nodding at Oversight. Mac stumbled when saw him…this wasn’t possible! Murdoc had no proof! Just random conjecture…, just the crazy guy in the dungeon. Mac dipped his head

“Please…I can prove to you I didn’t do this…I can tell you what happened to your son….please.”

“Silence Warlock!!!” Murdoc snapped, he turned to Oversight

“Sir…I am truly sorry for what has happened to your son. This creature caused you such pain, it should be punished! I would punish it for you and all your people, show you it’s power and make it suffer, the way it has made your son suffer.”

Oversight nodded at this, Murdoc gestured to the guards. They forced Mac onto his knees, pulling his arms apart. Mac watched Murdoc pull a…a branding iron…out from…well seemingly his coat. Who the hell just casually carries a branding iron around with him? Mac saw that it wasn’t an ordinary one, it was shaped into a specific symbol, Mac picked up the old world language carved into it, it was magic. Mac pulled against the guards to try and escape, the rage filling him, magic! Magic was being forced to make him reveal what he was! Murdoc made a great show of walking around him to his back, he pulled yet another weapon out, a long silver knife and sliced opened Mac’s t-shirt, revealing his bare back. 

“Oversight I do this to honour you and your son!” Murdoc said with a final flourish, the branding iron began to glow seemingly with no one lighting it. He swung it and slammed it into the centre of Mac’s back. He screamed, his eyes lit up from the pain, he couldn’t control, the dark magic pouring through his system like poison, his body fought against it on instinct. Murdoc grinned at the pain and grabbed Mac’s wrenching the boy’s head up, but then the glow in Mac’s eyes intensified, glided light began to fill the room, his power started to pour out, the light pierced a whole in the ceiling, the walls, he pulled his head away from Murdoc, but he held on. The guards let go terrified of what they were seeing, Mac tried to use his hands to cover the light, but it didn’t work, the power just spread to other parts of his body. His limbs started to shimmer, his hands, his arms as the power increased, still Murdoc kept a grip on him, taking such pleasure in the pain he was causing. Mac continued to scream as his magic built up, forced out of him like an animal. Finally Murdoc let go, for fear of burning his hands and dying himself, Oversight moved away shielding his eyes, he ordered his soldiers (those that remained) to shoot Mac, the soldiers raised their guns and then there was an explosion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you guys think? Was this chapter too much? I liked the idea of this as a kind of contrast to previous scenes I'd written of how Jack reacts to Mac's powers. Let me know what you think!!


	4. Sulphur + Smoke + Candle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So how did Mac escape that explosion? :D hehehe

Mac woke up rolling in his bed with his hands over his eyes, it took him a few moments to realise his body wasn’t burning at all, that he wasn’t surrounded by people and that Murdoc hadn’t shoved a brand into his back. Slowly he moved his fingers away and tentatively opened his eyes, he was in his room, it was a mess or in it’s normal organised chaos as he liked to call it. He swallowed and swung his legs over on the floor, he got up and immediately regretted it, the injuries from his little session with Murdoc were still making themselves felt. He landed back on his bed with a faintly comic “ffphmmp” He took a few deep breaths as he tried to replay back the dream in his head. It was a dream, none of it had happened, but…

And he hadn’t saying this even to himself, it felt so real. Could it have been some kind…of vision? Again a word that he shuddered at, it was a word that at least for him didn’t really have any meaning. His mom had always said to him that kind of stuff was possible, that his mind was so strong, that his power was so strong that it could potentially stretch that far. Was this one of those times? Surely not? Mac decided he had to check it out just to be sure, if nothing else to stop that image of Jack’s broken face spinning around in his brain. He stood up again and padded out, using the back stairs rather than the main halls, he felt foolish enough as it was. He didn’t need the extra strain of coming up with a reason why he wasn’t working and wandering around on the upper levels of the foundation without permission. He made his way up the seemingly endless stairs, pausing every so often to check if anyone was coming. Jack lived on the very top floor of the Phoenix Foundation, higher even that his father. Jack’s rooms were basically three cylinders with three unpleasantly huge windows (at least for Mac’s taste) that looked over Los Angeles. Dalton revelled in the freedom it gave him, it was his space away from his responsibilities, away from the pressure of being the Phoenix heir or so he said as Mac stood determinedly stood in the centre of the room and away from the view.

Mac finally made it up there and opened what was basically the back door into Jack’s bedroom, Dalton was not there. Everything seemed to be in its place, Jack’s huge bed and leather sofa, the endless cd’s piled in one corner and a vast dvd collection and Jack’s desk. The desk was a metal and wood monstrosity, apparently built to work on but in fact the desk and its chair were so uncomfortable, that when Dalton ever bothered to do any paper work he usually did it on the floor, sometimes with Mac sat next to him. Mac went through the room, he opened Dalton’s desk, went through his wardrobe and even looked under his bed (feeling only a little silly). Mac wasn’t even really sure of what he was looking for, he even braved the windowsills, feeling around the edges and keeping his feeling of nausea at bay, but still zip. He finally stood in the centre of the room feeling like an idiot, he had to go through the room again; desk, draws, computer – open the computer, check the main frame (nothing out of the ordinary there), wardrobe, drawers, check corners, check top shelf (still nothing), check bathroom, under sink, round bath, still zip (other than Jack’s smelly shampoo). Finally, the bed, top level (it was a four poster complete with curtains), nothing bottom, under mattress, nothing and then under pillows. He did find anything under the pillows, but something caught his eye on that section of the mattress, someone had opened up the mattress up and very carefully sewed it up again with virtually identical stitching, so the shift was barely registerable, but Mac’s eyes saw it. He pulled out his swiss army knife and carefully cut along the line, snorting faintly as he wrecked Dalton’s 300-dollar sheets. Underneath there was a small white bag that smelt faintly, Mac wondered how Jack hadn’t registered it just from the pong.

At this point Mac’s own curiosity, it can be said overcame his good sense. Rather than using something to handle the bag, he just picked it up. The bag was white canvas with elaborate red and black writing, it looked handmade or specially made for purpose, there was no obvious witches mark on it; Mac brought it up to his nose; burned sulphur, lard, soot, mercuric-nitric acid crystals and what mandrake root?. The bag then started to smoke, black whispers came out it, the whisps got bigger and became plumes, then those plumes started to form. Mac moved into the centre of the room and dropped it, the black mass was forming into a creature and it had arms and legs and a kind of face with a sort of tear for its mouth. Mac’s eyes began to glow ready to react; he raised his hands ready to defend himself. But then the creature let out a disgusting belch of yellow smoke and Mac gasped and choked. He fell to his knees and his hands went at his throat, he could smell burning matches, it was mustard gas! Or a modified form of it, burning his lungs, the creature swirled around him, coughing out more and more of the poison. Mac started to cough blood, he crawled towards the bathroom, the creature followed him, gleefully spinning around. Mac’s burning hands climbed into the bath and grabbed the shampoo and one of the candles Jack kept (a gift from an old girlfriend he always claimed), he pushed himself out into a heap on the floor. He kept moving this time towards the sink, there was a tiny panel behind the sink where Dalton kept a cigarette lighter and some cigarettes, he fumbled as he grabbed the lighter, he lit the candle and pushed it towards the creature and sliced open the shampoo with its knife. By this time the creature realised something was up and tried to snake it’s arm around Mac’s hands, but it didn’t manage it, Mac shot the shampoo right onto the candle, the creature started to scream and waver and then it under a minute it was gone.

Mac tossed the bottle a side and lent back against the wall, he wiped the blood from his mouth and coughed a bit more. The raw stench was going, and the gas was going, the creature had taken most of its poison with it. Once he recovered, he went to hunt for Jack in earnest. He headed to the war room, where Jack usually was if he wasn’t out or in his own quarters and he’d been right. Dalton was there at the late hour, looking at a huge map, chairs strewn everywhere and a massive screen in front of him, Mac having ran most of the way, threw up the door

“Jack I need to talk you, right now.”

“Now really isn’t a good time, go back to bed. We can talk in the morning.”

“Bed, what? No Jack, now! It’s urgent!”

Dalton walked over from the table and grabbed Mac’s arm

“Kid, scram, I can’t talk now, get going! I mean it.”

Mac refused to budge

“Jack I’ve got to show you something!”

Then a voice came out from one of the backs of the chairs that made Mac’s blood freeze

“What exactly is so urgent, that you have to drag my son away from real work in the middle of the night?”

Oversight stood up slowly and walked over. Jack shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm his rising temper

“Nothing…he was just _leaving”_ Jack said virtually pushing Mac out into the corridor.

“No..no son. Let’s here it, it’s clearly urgent. I’d like an explanation. Well? ” Oversight responded waving his son away.

Two things then happened. Mac’s military training kicked in again and he stood straight, arms folded behind his back, virtually ready to salute his bosses’s boss and he at least internally became very aware of his own slovenly appearance. His mass of long blond hair, his crumpled t-shirt (complete with blood stain) and jeans and of course his bare feet.

“I found something sir, in your son’s rooms. I think something or someone was going to attack your son.”

“Really? And you think this thing or unknown person would have managed to get past the guards and the wards of the foundation?”

“Yes sir.” Mac said determined to hold his ground

“Well lead the way, I’d like to see this fierce creature.”

Mac nodded determined to make the best of it. He knew was right and if he could make Oversight see it, then so much the better. So the trio followed by two guards all went up in the lift to Dalton’s rooms (possibly the longest three minutes of Mac’s life). Oversight went into his son’s rooms, pushing in front of Dalton and waited still smiling. Mac gestured towards the bathroom. Oversight entered and snorted then he turned and waited. Mac looked inside, the bag of was now a blackened mass and there was a dead candle and shampoo everywhere, with all the confidence he could muster Mac launched into his explanation of the bag, the creature, the sulphur and the mustard gas and of course how he’d destroyed.

“With shampoo? And a candle?” Oversight said unable to keep the snigger out of his voice

“The smell of sulphur and the gas made me think of the oxidising salts that are found in most shampoo and combined with flame, I thought it would neutralise the creature.” Mac responded

Oversight paused and looked at the burned mess on the floor and at Mac and then at his son, then he burst into laughter

“An impressive science experiment, but nothing more. If something of that power, got into the foundation we’d know and destroy it, without shampoo I might add. Jack, I think your science pet is getting a little paranoid. Maybe you should stop indulging him. And why exactly were you in my son’s rooms?”

Mac’s mind panicked slightly

“III heard…something.” He said lamely

Oversight laughed again

“He’s definitely paranoid. Son I’m going to return to the war room, I suggest you join me.”

“Of course sir.” Jack said nodding

Oversight left, flanked by his guards and made for the lift. Jack made to follow him, but then shut the door.

“Mac, what the hell are you doing? You interrupt me and my father for a burnt candle and smell yellow soot? Seriously?”

“Jack please I know something was here, it was going to kill you!”

“But you killed it with shampoo?” Jack echoed his father’s snigger “Yeah right.” Jack instantly regretted his initial reaction as Mac’s face made him feel like he’d just kicked a puppy.

“Look kid, I have infinite faith in you, I do, but you gotta give me more than smelly yellow soot. It’s not exactly winning and it embarrasses me as well, I…”

“Embarrasses you? Since when do you care about that kind of thing?”

“Mac, my father…is complicated. I love you kid and I will watch out for you I always will, but my father’s tolerance my ‘eclectic habits and company’ will only go so far. Outbursts like that help no body.”

“Jack what are you talking about? I’m trying to help, you’re in serious danger! I’m not screwing around!”

Something then in a very tired Jack Dalton snapped then

“Look Mac, for once do as your god damn told, go to bed. I just can’t..”

Mac tried too respond, but Dalton held up his hand

“I try to look out for you, I want to keep you safe and this is the thanks I get? Public embarrassment and my father ridiculing you and me by default?”

“What? Thanks?? I have to be grateful?? I III .. But II don’t get it, he’s mocking me, not you. He couldn’t mock you, he loves you...I mean.”

“You don’t know my dad too well kid then if that’s what you think and be grateful.”

Mac tried again to respond, but Jack cut him off firmly

“Take the back stairs and go back to bed Mac. I can’t right, I just can’t. I’ve had enough of this ” Jack said holding up his hands in frustration after that he stormed out.

Then Mac was alone, he couldn’t quite believe it. Jack as a general rule never wrote what he said off and now he’d virtually screamed in his face. Mac left Dalton’s rooms disheartened and upset, he made his way back down to his own tiny quarters and sat on his bed thinking. He knew what he saw and whoever had planted was going to be back when he or she realised it hadn’t worked. Rather than sleep, Mac searched around under his own bed and pulled out a loose floorboard, underneath was heavy dust covered book. Mac dragged it out and blew the dust off it. He sat up in his bed, pulled on the light and began to read.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I should add in, I'm obviously not a chemist (ha!). But I did look up a few bits to try and make the science language vaguely believable sounding, let me know if it sounds convincing. I also wanted to mimc the language of both shows; MacGyver and Merlin, James MacGyver as Uther Pendragon and Jack's complicated position and heir/Arthur. Let me know what you think?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter on this one! Murdoc continues his investigations and Boze and Riley are thrown into the mix, let me know what you think!!

The next day was awkward for both of them. Jack was still fuming at MacGyver for publicly embarrassing him in front of his father and Mac was hurt that Jack even after all this time didn’t trust his word. Mac was furious on one level too because he was desperately trying to save Jack’s life and currently Dalton was making that very difficult. So, when Mac went into the lab next day, he had a virtual thundercloud over his head. Boze approached his friend with extreme caution and pushed coffee towards him carefully

“So you heard then?” Mac snapped

“That you woke up Oversight and his son with a made-up story about a ghost and a wet candle?”

“A wet candle, what? you can’t have a wet candle! That’s scientifically impossible!”

“That’s what you’re focusing on in this conversation? The wet candle?”

Mac fumed again and sat sipping the coffee at the table. Boze moved in close to sit next to him so they could speak quietly without the building’s sensors picking up the conversation

“Seriously Mac…did you see something?”

“I I I don’t know…”

“What does that mean?”

“It means exactly that…look I had this horrible nightmare; blood and violence and…Jack is attacked…I mean he’s almost beaten to death….yeah I know and look I think it’s all somehow tied to Murdoc showing up.”

“Wait what??”

“We didn’t have any of this weirdness or spells or anything…”

“Other than when you summoned them.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah…I get you.”

“Have you spoken to Murdoc yet?”

“No. Why?”

“Just be careful Boze, his methods of interrogation are….intense.” Mac responded rubbing his side feeling the bruises from the previous day, still as raw and painful as ever.

“Do you know why Murdoc is even here???” Mac continued on

“The ghost horse?”

“What? Now who’s talking crazy?”

“That’s what people are saying. That a bunch of rich LA folk saw the ghost of a horse riding across the LA sky.”

“I didn’t think any of them even knew what a horse looked like.”

Boze snorted and returned to his work on prosthetics, while Mac coffee finally downed moved towards their pet project ‘sparky’; a vast AI robot which compromised all the knowledge of the various soldiers, scientists and workers of the Phoenix. The idea was a walking, encyclopaedia that would be able to come with new ways of ‘hunting’ the ‘paranormal’. Mac was at least for now steadfastly ignoring that part of the programming and focusing on building sparky’s knowledge. What was more pressing in his own head at the moment was Boze’s comment about the ‘ghost horse’. His ghost horse….

It had happened a week earlier; Mac had a rare weekend off and had taken a new project onto the top of the Milton Observatory in LA to test it. The device if it had worked was supposed to measure weather patterns and test particles in the high atmosphere and be portable. It hadn’t worked exactly how Mac had planned, it was portable, and it did measure the weather, but for some reason wherever Mac aimed the device it shaped the clouds or shifted the structure of them. After initially panicking about it, Mac started having some fun, he pushed a minuscule amount of his magic into the device and had started to shape the clouds, it was a bit silliness. He’d be on his own, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon, and he was miles away from the city, the only reason a horse even popped into his head was because Jack had been going on about the joys of riding for the previous day. The clouds had also been so high, that he didn’t think anyone would even see them. Worry had never even crossed his mind, but somehow the image had gotten back to Oversight and the Phoenix had gotten involved.

He had no idea what he was going to do, it was a harmless trick that had gotten out of hand. But Murdoc wasn’t going to rest until he found a culprit. The man himself walked in as Mac was brooding, Murdoc walked up to Mac first and gripped his shoulder, Mac shuddered at his very touch. Murdoc span him around in his chair and looked down at him, he lent forward, leaning on Mac’s left arm where Murdoc had sliced only the previous day, Mac’s breathing became faster as he felt pain shooting across his arm in both directions, through his hand and his shoulder.

“Mr MacGyver, so good to see you again after our little chat yesterday. I hope you’re feeling alright. No lasting effects, I hope you know I didn’t mean you any harm at all. I was just doing the job that Oversight had asked me to do.”

Mac not trusting his mouth simply nodded and swallowed, Murdoc still had not let go of his arm.

“I’m sure we could find time to have another little chat though. Are you free now?”

Boze registering Mac’s discomfort leapt forward and put his hand on the man’s shoulder and put on his most confident smile.

“You must be the Witchfinder. It’s good to meet you, I’m Wilt Bozer.”

Murdoc temporarily distracted by Bozer’s good manners turned around and released Mac’s arm and turned around and shook his hand

“Well aren’t you a polite young man? It’s good to meet you. Tell me what do you do at the foundation.”

“Oh I’m a lab tech, like MacGyver, but I design prosthetics for soldiers so they can be protected in the field and against the supernatural.”

“Fascinating, so have you worked here long”

“Oh a few years”

Mac massaged his arm and breathed out, initially grateful to Boze for distracting Murdoc, then panicked again as Murdoc’s dark eyes focused intently on Bozer in a manner that he did not like. Mac swallowed and got up 

“Murdoc, you said you wanted to talk to me again? Whatever questions you’ve got to ask me, please ask them now.”

“No, no, no Mr MacGyver, we can do you later. I’m going to your friend Bozer for now.”

Murdoc pushed Mac back in the chair with one hand and led Bozer away with another. Boze crossed his fingers behind his back as he departed. Mac immediately got up to follow them. Thankfully Murdoc didn’t take Boze to the dungeons, rather he retreated to one of the many empty conference rooms the Phoenix had for guests, speakers and other pointless events that weren't really related to the foundation but gave them plenty of money. Murdoc pushed Bozer inside one of them and locked the door behind. Mac waited at the door, ready to leap in at any moment. Murdoc gestured for Bozer to sit in one of the plastic chairs that scattered the room

“So Mr Bozer, how long have you known Mr MacGyver?”

“Call me Bozer, everyone does”

“Well Bozer, answer the question”

“Since we were kids, why’s that relevant?”

“Mr MacGyver interests me and you seem to know him so I thought I’d ask you.”

“Okay…”

Mac just about stopped himself going in after them, Murdoc’s questions were probing but bizarre asking about odd details in his life; how long he’s be at the Phoenix, who is father was, school, they weren’t exactly deeply meaningful questions about his life, but they were weirdly intimate.

“And finally Mr Bozer, have you ever seen Mac perform any kind of magic of any kind?”

“What no?? never, he wouldn’t be here if he had, would he?? That’s crazy talk…that’s just crazy talk!”

“Alright, what about Riley Davis?”

“Riley, why are you asking about Riley now?”

“I understand she suffers from headaches from time-to-time?”

Boze looked up at Murdoc, genuinely confused, Mac he could protect, Riley was a whole other tangled up issue

“Well does she?”

“Yeah…but I mean, it’s because she’s stares at screens for too long. She’s a tech genius, but she’ll spend hours looking at computers, bound to give you headaches.”

“Yes…I’ve heard she’s brilliant…one might almost say too brilliant.”

At that point Mac did interrupt, pushing his magic against the locked down and opening it to a disconcerting scene. Murdoc was three inches away from Boze’s face, Mac put on his best innocent face and said

“I’m sorry to interrupt Murdoc, but Boze and I are wanted upstairs by Agent Dalton, so I’ll have to take him away from your questions.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter and the gang is here! Our trio chat and plot and make a narrow escape. Feedback welcome :)

Mac opened the door and came forward virtually dragging Bozer up from the seat. He even managed to slightly fall over his own feet, looking vulnerable was always a good way of making people forget you. If you were so clumsy you could barely walk…people tended to not register you or at least that had been Mac’s experience at the foundation. As soon as they got outside into the Phoenix gardens Mac turned to Bozer

“You okay? He didn’t do anything to you??”

“What other than creep me out and invade my personal space in a major way?”

“Boze, I’m serious!”

“I get it. He didn’t do anything to me”

“He didn’t hurt you at all?”

“Why would he? Wait what actually happened yesterday?”

God was it really only yesterday? His whole sense of time was so confused at the moment.

“Nothing…nothing I couldn’t handle. Look Boze, I’m just checking you’re okay.”

  
“I realise that, but talk to me man. Seriously, what did Murdoc do.”

Mac had no interest in going to the more graphic details of what had happened the previous day, instead he turned away from his friend. Boze unfortunately hit the mark both literally and figuratively, when he grabbed MacGyver’s arm. Mac’s whole arm clenched, the pain from the silver knives was still very much there, knowing Bozer would not give up until he got an answer, he pulled his long sweater and lab coat up and revealed an angry red, jagged and uneven cut now building on the scar he already had (Mac hadn’t healed himself quite as he’d hoped). The bruising from the restraints was now there around his wrist as well in all it’s purple and yellow glory. Mac looked away slightly ashamed, he never liked Boze to see if any of this, this stuff….it always made things more complicated. He could survive this… but Boze, if anything ever happened to him, Mac would never forgive himself. Bozer stared at the injuries for a few seconds and then went to grab Mac’s other arm, his friend beat him too and speedily pulled up the sleeve revealing a matching set of bruises on his left wrist.

“Happy now?” Mac snapped angry

“Please tell me you don’t have a matching set for that too” Bozer responded gesturing to the red line on Mac’s arm

“No he…no I don’t”

“Mac what else did he do?”

“He…he went for the scars on my chest…something about.”

“Revealing the witch’s mark?”

“How do you even know that?”

“The rumor that a witch finder was going to show has been around for days as soon as I heard it, I started reading around and that’s what they look for. So that what’s he did? Look for a witcher’s mark, did he use silver knives to do it?”

“Yeah, he went for the two scars on chest too.”

“For fuck’s sake Mac, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t Jack stop it?”

“He did, Jack came in as Murdoc went at me with a blowtorch and pulled me out.”

“Ahh for god’s sake...man, you gotta tell me these things. How else am I supposed to look out for you? Why are you even working? I mean, you shouldn’t even be able to stand. Mac…”

Mac stared at his friend during this little rant. The idea that Bozer was trying to protect him, it seemed strange to him…He’d always felt so guilty about Boze and finding out about his magic. It was always a terrible risk and Boze if he ever got caught, Mac didn’t want to think about it. The fact...that Boze even felt that he had to protect Mac…ah see it was already complicated…more tangled…he shouldn’t have said anything to Bozer about Murdoc.

“Look Boze…you don’t have to protect me. Keep yourself safe that’s all I want.”

Bozer groaned but then paused mid noise (quite a feat) and got up

“We gotta find Riley”

“Why?”

“Murdoc’s got his eye on her too. He thinks she’s I don’t know what really. Look he’s real interested in both of you.”

The two friends shot off to try and find her. Mac was horrified at the prospect of Riley in Murdoc’s hands…she was another person who was family, who was important to him, another person he couldn’t, would risk. They headed to the computer labs and to their relief found her there absorbed in her work, surrounded by six computers and three keyboards, her eyes racing over the text and her flashing across the keys at speed. Bozer spoke first

“Riles, thank God. We’ve been looking for you.”

“Well you’ve found me.” Riley responded not looking up from her work

“Riley please listen to us” Mac cut in

“I’m listening” she quipped not looking up from the screens

“Riley I’m serious!” Bozer snapped. This made her look up, it was rare for Bozer to lose his temper. So whatever it is had to be important at least to him

“You’ve got my attention” she said

“Have you met the Witch finder yet?”

“What the weirdo with the dark coat? Nope, only seen him in passing and then walked the other way.”

“Smart…he’s interested in you.” Bozer said

“Me? What the hell have I done? I’m not a witch, is this all because of that stupid horse? Why are people freaking out? I looked at the videos people have been posting online. It’s not a ‘ghost horse’. It looks like a cloud formation to me. I bet it was some bored young warlock on the hill showing off.”

Mac looked at his shoes, not meeting Riley’s eyes, she was always so perceptive. How he longed to tell her everything, but he couldn’t put another person at risk. If he told now, she’d be in even more danger, particularly if she had magic herself. Her skill on computers sometimes made Mac wonder if that were possible, although maybe she was just naturally brilliant.

“Riley…look please stay away from the witch finder at all costs. He’s seriously dangerous, he tried to hurt Mac”

“Woah are you okay?”

“Look Riles…I’m fine. But”

“Mac’s not fine. Dude show her your arm, she needs to know how serious this”

Mac glared at Bozer, but obligingly hoiked up his sweater and lab coat again to show Riley the cut and bruising. Her eyes widened in a reaction very similar to Boze’s and he felt that familiar pit of shame at the bottom of his stomach, he quickly covered them up again.

“Mac...are you alright? I mean shouldn’t you report this? I mean..”

“Riley listen…Murdoc has got his eye on you. He thinks you’ve got magic, all your tech stuff has got him suspicious.” Boze cut in

“What that’s seriously crazy? I’m brilliant at what I do therefore I must be a witch. What a prick.”

“No argument from me.” Boze said

Mac who had stayed very quiet during this little interchange found himself listening to the noises outside Riley's computer labs trying to pick up what was being said. There were murmurs of conversation, Mac’s ears recognised the voices, but his brain couldn’t quite make the connection, then almost too late he had it. He yanked Riley and Boze away from the table they’d been at, dragging them into a supply closet filled with old bits of machinery. He put his finger to his lips as they were both about to protest, all three of them remained silent and listened at the door

“Yes Murdoc…I’m sure Miss Davis is in here. She really is brilliant, one of our best scientists.”

“Of course Oversight, you do understand I must question everyone though.”

“Indeed Murdoc…the behaviour of my son was inexcusable. I’ll speak to him and summon his…god what was his name?”

“Angus MacGyver”

“Yes...everyone calls him Mac. Yes my son seems to be oddly blinded by that boy, he’s a kind of pet for him, keeps him around out of pity….I suppose. No family, no friends….Jack is a sort of mentor….”

Mac burned at the patronising tone, the garbage explanation, Jack and his friendship meant a great deal to him and to hear it so derided made him angry. Yet there was a tiny part of him…it was very small mind that wondered if Oversight was right. Dalton had always made such a fuss over him, he never quite got why Jack took such risks for him. He pushed the thought from his mind and thought of his mom at home, his mom who loved him, protected him. Boze put a gentle hand on Mac’s shoulder, when his friend looked up he shook his head at him. Mac speedily blinked realising his eyes were glowing

“What’s going on?” Riley whispered from behind them at Mac’s back

Mac shushed her and continued to listen

“And Miss Davis?” Murdoc asked

“Yes...she’ll be found. I’m sure she’s in the building in somewhere. I’ll make sure she comes to you so you can speak with her. Thank you for everything you do Murdoc.”

“It’s my pleasure and my duty Oversight”

“Good”

Then the two figures left the lab and the trio fell out of the cupboard into a heap.

“Alight so what do we do?” Boze asked

“I’m going to speak Jack” Mac responded

“You think he’ll help?” Riley added, somewhat sceptical

“I know you don’t like Dalton much Riles, but he’s always had a soft spot for you and your mom.”

Bozer started coughing violently at this point, indicating Mac should shift onto less dangerous conversation topics

“Anyway…Jack has to know about all this. He doesn’t trust Murdoc either, he thinks he’s bonkers and he’ll make sure he gets reigned in”

“You don’t sound very confident Mac”

“Short of running away I don’t know what else we can do. There’s something else going on here.”

“I agree, something else that a ‘ghost horse’ Riley added, not quite keeping the snigger out of her tone

The three still sprawled on the floor (no one thought to get up, it had been a hard morning after all) continued to chat about what to do. It was decided that Riley should disappear into Mac or Bozer’s quarters in the backrooms, dusty and possibly a little smelly (neither of the boy’s were exactly clean), but Murdoc was unlikely to look for her there. Bozer would go back to the labs and find the darkest corner he could and hide and potentially try and look into why Murdoc was showing up now and Mac would do his best to speak to Dalton (although they weren’t technically speaking).

They all set off on their separate ‘missions’ determined to solve the mystery and keep themselves all alive and safe in the process. Riley did her best to keep herself together, pushing the away the fear that a man Murdoc invoked in her, she’d met men like him before, entitled, moralising, thinking they could take anything they wanted, when they wanted. It made her mad with rage, but the fear came from part of her thinking that Murdoc might be right. Riley had never really thought she had magic, but sometimes she wondered, she did get such crippling headaches and, in those headaches, patterns, plans, designs all sorts of images popped in her head. The truth was she didn’t really know for absolute sure if she had magic. God she hoped she didn’t, it was just another problem, another worry, she also didn’t want to leave the foundation. She liked the work, she did there and it felt like home and Mom was close by and…she just hoped she was wrong.

Boze retreated to his own corner of the labs to find out as he much as he could about their new enemy and hide out. Mac meanwhile took a deep breath and sort Jack out to plead with him and potentially give the best apology of his life.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mac does his best to grovel to Dalton, while Jack tries to protect Riley from Murdoc's clutches

Mac true to his word went on a search for Jack, rehearsing his apology over and over as he walked around. Dalton seemed to have performed a disappearing act as he wasn’t on any of the many levels (Mac refused to believe that Jack spent any time in the dungeons other than rescuing people so didn’t go down there). He searched in the war room from behind a pillar (Oversight was certainly present even if his son was missing). The only option left was Jack’s private quarters. MacGyver headed there last trudging up the stairs. He was tempted to use his magic just to speed up the tedium. His damaged wrists and the cut on his chest still stung so walking for ages and feel his clothes rub against his skin was horrible. However he pushed the pain and reckless thoughts aside and kept going. After one seemed like endless steps he arrived at the elaborate wooden door, it had always been ‘his’ entrance or at least that’s how Jack described it to him.

“You’re my special guy hoss, this way if you need me, you can find me upstairs without anyone noticing.”

Mac smiled at the memory, but then remembered why he was there. He felt a sick feeling in his stomach and opened the door. The room was very much as he left it the previous day, pristine and bizarre, a strange mishmash of old world and new. Jack stood next to the windows (his favourite spot). Mac stepped inside closing the door behind, Dalton seemingly didn’t notice his entrance or Mac’s boots tapping across the floor. Dalton remained absolutely silent even when MacGyver stood next to him (determinedly pushing his fear of heights down).

“Look Jack, before you say anything. I came here to apologise about yesterday. I’m so sorry about everything with the candle and the sulphur. I should never have bothered you about it, it was stupid and I was stupid to get you involved. I’m sorry I humiliated you in front of your father, I didn’t mean to at all. Please know that it came from trying to help, I know that’s not really an excuse. But can you forgive me???”

Jack continued to stare at the window

“Jack please! I don’t know what else I can do. I really am sorry, I shouldn’t have got you involved. Can you forgive me???? What can I do to make things better? Please tell me! Please!!”

Dalton remained quiet, he wasn’t making Mac grovel for his own pleasure. In truth he was only half listening as the last conversation he had had with his father was playing out his mind for the twentieth time

“Get that pet of yours under control!” Oversight snapped

“Pet?? What pet??” Jack responded confused and angry

“That kid who follows you around like a god damn puppy.”

“What you mean the boy who saved my life, while I was in Afghanistan fighting your war? That pet?”

“Your squad saved you, I saved you.”

“You arrived too god damn late”

“I’m not discussing that incident with the Chimera again. Get him under control or he is out”

“What??”

“He’s disrupting a serious investigation and frankly he’s a lunatic and a liability.”

“Mac’s a lunatic? That’s his name by the way. Murdoc’s the lunatic, the monster. You do remember that I found Mac chained to a wall bleeding because of him, you remember me telling you that?”

“Murdoc’s methods maybe unorthodox, but he’s doing what has to be done.”

“Unorthodox, you gotta be kidding me. He’s a psycho and now you’re trying to make out he’s some kind of upstanding citizen??”

“Rooting out magic is a dirty business”

“Blood-soaked you might say” Jack responded sarcastically

“Indeed, Murdoc does what he has too to keep us all safe.”

“I can’t believe I’m still hearing this.”

“To get back to the point. Get “mac” under control or he’s out, fired. I don’t know why I let you keep him in the first place.”

“What do you expect me to do?”

“Make him apologise to Murdoc and answer his questions. He shouldn’t have anything to hide so the discussion shouldn’t be a problem.”

At that point Jack had stormed off slamming the door so hard that he’d made the wood crack. While Dalton had been lost in his thoughts, Mac had continued to ramble on

“Look Jack, okay so we might not be fixable, I get that you’re still incredibly angry at me and you have every right to be. I get it I do, but…but…this isn’t about me really. The reason I’m here is because of Riley”

“What?”

Mac breathed a sigh of relief, finally he’d got him to speak

“Murdoc is after Riley, he’s convinced she’s got magic because of all her skills on the computer.”

“Oh for God’s sake, is she alright? Has he got to her?”

“No, no, not at all. Boze spoke to Murdoc, he wanted to ask him questions and then he started to ask him about Riley. Boze and I told her to retreat to our quarters. We figure that Murdoc won’t look for her there.”

“That’s a good thought, but when he can’t find her, he’ll rip everyone’s rooms apart. We have to find her now and get her somewhere safe.”

Jack moved towards Mac’s side entrance with his hoss at his side. While Mac was happy that Jack had leapt into action to help Riley just as they had wanted, he was a little bit upset that Jack hadn’t accepted his apology. He desperately wanted to make it right with Jack, but wasn’t really sure how, he didn’t know what else he could do other than grovel. Something to worry about later. They shot down the stairs saying nothing, Jack strode the foundations main rooms Mac at his side. Although Jack side stepped his father as well. They made it to the back quarters where many of the scientists lived and to Mac’s room specifically. Dalton’s heart was hammering in his chest, but when he saw Riley, calm and typing away it eased.

“Riles, thank God!”

“So Mac’s told you?”

“Yes, we gotta get out you here like yesterday.”

“But Jack, how am I supposed to do that?”

“Riley just get up now! I mean it!”

“Jack, come one tell me. I mean I want to help! I don’t want to die either, but how am I supposed to disappear. I can’t exactly just run away. ”

“Riley get up kid. I’ll explain everything later.”

Resigned Riley got up laptop under her arm to follow Jack away. But then a voice came through the room that made everyone’s blood run cold

“Mr Dalton, Miss Davis and Mr MacGyver. What a merry little party this is!” Murdoc beamed at them all. Mac mused on how he’d managed to sneak up on them undetected

“Miss Davis, you are exactly the woman I wanted to see.”

“No Murdoc.” Jack responded grinding his teeth

“Your father gave me free reign. I suggest you take it up with him”

“You’re going to have to go through me to get to Riley.”

“With pleasure, there are half a dozen soldiers outside.” Murdoc responded, Jack eyes followed the gesture and registered the mercenaries. Not his troops, his father’s specialists. Dalton was absolutely up for a fight, his hand already on the knife at his belt. But then Riley responded

“Jack it’s fine. I can talk to Murdoc, I’ll answer his questions as best I can.”

“Riley, please…” Jack responded, images of Riley with shredded wrists and blood-soaked hair running through his head

“It’s okay Jack.” She added quietly.

In truth Riley was terrified, she’d seen the injuries on Mac’s arms. Despite that she would not risk anyone getting hurt on her behalf and part of her thought maybe she could get something on Murdoc whether others had failed.

“See, no need to worry Jack. If you’ll come with Miss Davis!”

“Riley…wait!” Mac grabbed her wrist.

He put a tiny spec of magic inside her, he couldn’t stop Murdoc. But the magic might just about keep her alive, give her a shield against any pain. She registered a strange warmth and then her eyes went to Mac and she smiled. She hugged him tightly and murmured

“Remember to shut your eyes”

Mac stared in response, had he given himself away? But Murdoc seemed none the wiser, he just clapped his hands to speed the scene along. Riley moved away from Jack and Mac (Bozer was nowhere to be found). She kept her laptop under her arm and stood before the guards. Murdoc follow her out smiling. A few minutes passed and then Jack swore violently and loudly. He couldn’t believe his father had done this, actually part of him could. He knew his father was an asshole, he just hoped that Riley would escape his notice. Or somehow Jack could pull her out of it. Mac waited for Dalton’s face to return to a normal colour and suggested they should got find Bozer.

**

Murdoc meanwhile had ushered Riley along to a large conference room. She hid her relief that there was no scary tools or instruments of torture on display. There was a just a single desk and chair in the middle of it with a glass of water on it. He gestured for her to sit down and have a glass of water. She refused the water but perched on the seat laptop still in hand. Her fingers brushed against the side.

“You really don’t need that. I’m not asking you to do any work.”

“It’s fine. I’ve got work to do when I get back, so I’ll keep it with me thanks” (it also kept her hands from shaking)

Murdoc sighed but capitulated

“So Miss Davis, how long have you worked at the Phoenix Foundation?”

“Oh a few years. I enjoy the work I do a lot.”

“Which is what exactly?”

“Running simulations, designing computer programs. Anything tech the foundation asks”

“You must work long hours”

“No more than anybody else does. We’re all very dedicated here.”

“Long hours, physically draining. You must get headaches.”

“Sometimes yeah…just one of the things of staring at screen for too long.”

“Have you ever been treated for these headaches?”

“Why is that relevant?”

“Please just answer the question Miss Davis.”

“I’m getting really tired of this..”

At this point Murdoc stopped by a table that apparently appeared out of nowhere. Riley couldn’t work out how she hadn’t seen it. She could have sworn the room was empty. The table was plain, but there were a whole series of horrible looking items on it. Murdoc up a beautiful silver knife with an inlaid handle, Riley swore she could see a ruby at one end.

“Do you know what this is Miss Davis?”

“A knife?”

“Very good Miss Davis.”

Murdoc moved towards Riley at the desk. She seemingly out of instinct held her laptop like a shield over her chest. He didn’t see anything to her, he just moved the knife between his hands. Riley tried to get up to move away from, but he pushed her down into the seat. He didn’t move the laptop away from her chest, instead he very deliberately moved the knife across her hand and drew a line of blood. It took Riley a moment to register, but then she gasped as she stared at the wound. There was not pain, not a drop, the blood was coming out and dripping between her fingers. But no pain was there. Mac’s magic had done it’s work. She managed to wrench herself out the chair swapping her laptop into her other hand.

“What the hell was that for?”

“Oh just a test Miss Davis, but don’t worry you passed.”

“You’re nuts Murdoc”

“I’ve been called worse things Miss Davis. I had one last question for you, who treats your headaches?”

“What?? why is that relevant???”

“Just answer the question please”

Riley’s eyes were on the knife still in Murdoc’s hand dripping with her blood

“Whoever’s on staff at the medical facilities.”

“No one specific??”

“III um….well no, no lots of doctors run the facilities. Whoever is on that day.”

“Fine….fine…you may leave now”

Riley needed absolutely no encouragement. She used her sleeve to try and stop the bleeding across the front of her hand and ran for the door as fast she could.


End file.
